The Factory Mechanicals is a professional program geared towards emerging actors who have completed a post-secondary theatre training program within the last 5-7 years. This program is intended to offer the artists both mentorship opportunities and Master Class training. The intent and focus of the program is to fill a gap in the artistic training of young artists by providing an in depth of knowledge with the Canadian theatre cannon, tools for the actor during new play development and workshops, and long term professional mentorship.

The Canadian theatre creative landscape has evolved over the past decade, and although our training institutions have begun to focus on ‘collective creation’, our young actors are lacking the skills needed to work in text base, dramaturgy workshops. This particular skill demands understanding the role of the actor in these scenarios, and particularly approaching the script in a manner that is collaborative; in order to feed the needs of the playwright at a specific stage of development. Also, we have noticed over the years, that our young artists have not been fully immersed into the depths of the Canadian cannon. Our national store of plays and monologues are vast, and our writers also demand a particular acting approach that is vastly different than our American and British counter-parts. This program will offer the selected actors access to not only the resources at Factory Theatre, but we will immerse them into the work available in our rich theatrical history.

The Mechanicals will be a small group of 8-10 artists (small in number to be able to give each participant concentrated focus) that will be selected by the Artistic Director of Factory Theatre. These talented artists will be chosen through our General Auditions, held annually.

Criteria:

l Completed Post-Secondary theatre training program or academy within the last 5-7 yearsl Canadian Citizenl Demonstrates a passionate interest in Canadian theatre, new play development and working with emerging playwrightsl Demonstrates a high skill level in their fieldl Inquisitive spirit and fearless imagination

The selection process will be through invitation only. Once the actors have been identified from our General Auditions, they will be sent a letter of interest, requesting they submit a short writing piece identifying their interest in the program and their desire to further their skill set to new play development. Following the program completion Mechanicals will be recognized as Factory Theatre Ambassadors receiving continued support from the Factory Theatre team as they venture on their acting career.

The program runs from October to June, with our final installment of Factory Wired; our salon-style series of works in progress. The Mechanicals will be expected to take part in various programs including monthly group meetings, masterclasses led by some of Canada’s creative leaders, attend read-throughs and workshops, as well as participate in our emerging playwrights program, The Foundry.

At the core of play development is: the workshop. Throughout the program, actors will be involved in the workshops for projects supported by Factory. This portion of the program will give the actors the experience to support the creation of work in progress and to provide a place where that work can be effectively mentored and challenged. Overseen by Artistic Director, Nina Lee Aquino, with the support of Company Dramaturge, Matt McGeachy, these workshops offer an independent-minded and diverse community for actors to engage with new work and playwrights, ask questions, build context, and take risks. It will also give an opportunity for actors to understand how a theatre company works alongside artists during the creation process.

This program is designed to contribute to the long-term career of the actor, as well as foster a creative spirit and encourage expressions of cultural diversity in a professional theatre setting. For the 10 month duration of this program, the participants will not only gain a strong understanding of how new Canadian theatre is created and produced, but they will join the Factory Theatre family of artists and staff , and be provided with in house work space to launch their own projects (when space is available). We believe this program could serve as a vital bridge between graduating theatre school and launching a professional career. The Mechanicals will end the program confident that they will always have Factory Theatre as a resource and cultural home. Our unwavering belief in the long term commitment to our artist begins with the emerging ones.